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IT WAS JUST SUNSET when Alex started toward the stairs of the boardinghouse that, following her father&039;s death, was now hers-despite the fact that he had left behind a new young wife, a woman nahtthe dust of travel fro back up to her roo trip fro note of the changes-soe-that had beenup and resting
That hen she heard the shots
Dozens of the with the sounds of horses&039; hooves, and the whooping and hollering that ca with the sudden rush of men into town
"Oh, no!" Bert, the jack-of-all-trades her father had hired right after their arrival in Victory, Texas, ca into the entry hall and made his way to the frontHe peered carefully beyond the lace drapes, the color draining from his coffee-colored face "It&039;sthe on?" Alex deh her, but she headed straight to the gun rack in the library She had heard strange stories ever since her return, but she wasn&039;t one to put stock in spooky tales, not when she had a gun in her hand
Her father&039;s Colt autoht where it had always been, and it was loaded Shedoithout a fight
Bert turned to stare at her, and she realized she&039;d never seen hi be It won&039;t help you any These folks are-they&039;re aniet down in the basement and hide Don&039;t you see? There just ain&039;t no point in fighting these days"
No point in fighting? That was ridiculous Victory had a sheriff, a deputy, and a town banker, three shopkeepers and a stable ht in the war or on the frontier and kne to defend themselves Not to mention the fact that the saloon had several bartenders and "song and dance" girls ere tough as nails
Bert turned froet into the baseot to hide, and be real quiet We&039;ll be safe down there"
"I&039;uts, and if we fight, others will, too"
Beulah, the cook, appeared, running froo hide" She turned, calling for Tess and Jewell, the iving her chills
Fighting her growing fear, Alex strode over and took Bert by the shoulders "Stop it! We need to stand up and fight"
"No!" Bert shook off her hold and grabbed her in return "Alex, you don&039;t know these outlaws It&039;s the Beauville gang I&039;ve seen what they done, back in Brigsby"
"What happened in Brigsby?"
"They host town Now, you go down in the baseot to finish his sentence The door to the boardinghouse burst open and revealed three outlaws standing on the front steps, guns drawn
Alex&039;s heart stuttered, then resu as she told herself that they were just outlaws Murderers shooting into the air and shouting to create fear and confusion, but ainst one, because only she was areous man Despite his fear, he stepped forward, ready to protect her But the first of the outlaws, a tall le swift blow, he sent Bert crashing against the wall She heard the crack as his head hit the wood, then saw him slump unconscious to the floor
"You must be the Alexandra Gordon I&039;ve heard sooff his hat and bowing in greeting The two behind hi tobacco on her neept hardwood floor "Milo Roundtree, at your service," the firstI believe you will be at my service"
"I don&039;t think so" She lifted the Colt "I know exactly how to use this"
A short hed uproariously "She&039;ll be at our service? All right! She&039;s a daht cleaner than them whores we&039;re always stuck with"
"Didn&039;t you hear me? I said I&039;ll shoot you," Alex announced
"No, you&039;ll corinned It was then she saw that two other ht up with Tess and Jewell before they could reach the baseirls&039; throats
Alex was filled with sudden terror, but soht and keep her face as defiant as her words "Let o this instant, and I won&039;t blow your brains out"
"Aren&039;t you the feisty beauty?" Milo said "I think you&039;ll be for me Just for me"
"Not in this lifeti," he drawled The words were not reassuring
"I&039;ll shoot you before I let you lay a hand on me," she said to Milo
He ht his knife closer to her flesh, and a low ly, and Alex lowered her gun
Milo stepped forward and grabbed her, slaainst hi very odd about the man He feltcold, his flesh where it touched her like icy stone She struggled, trying to wrench her arm away, but she was certain she would wrench it from its socket before she would break the e eyes, and pitch-black
More shots, cries and taunting caht or screaed her out Where would be the sense in it? she thought
There were eight men in all, she saw once she was outside: three who had remained out on the street with the horses and were the source of the most recent ruckus, the tho had Jewell and Tess, and the three, including Milo, who had accosted her
"Round &039;em up!" chortled one of the men with the horses
Jewell let out a terrified cry as she was sent flying out the door and into the arms of another man
Where the hell was the sheriff?
Where were any of the men?
"Get theot some more business in town before we leave with our spoils," Milo said to the others
They were herded into the saloon, where several of the song-and-dance girls were huddled together by the piano
The only o of Alex at last, so he could go behind the bar and open the cash register Several of hisraucously
Suddenly they heard the sound of clicking spurs
So at last Alex let herself breathe an alh of relief
The slatted saloon doors were thrown open, crashing back against the walls loudly enough to arrest the attention even of the men behind the bar
For a moment he was framed there in silhouette, a talla railroad duster and cowboy boots, a rifle carried easily at his side
He hadn&039;t come alone Behind him stood another man, a shade shorter but otherwise a twin of the dark silhouette in appearance
The firsteyes that seeht He looked around the rooaze lit upon Milo, who still had his hand in the till He seemed to be amazed that anyone had had the nerve to enter the saloon Alex saw his hand inching toward the gun holstered at his waist
The newcoolden eyes fixed his stare on Milo
"I wouldn&039;t do that," he said "I really wouldn&039;t do that"
Milo ignored hiunfire blazed
IN SECONDS THE AIR filled with a fog of gunpowder so thick that it obscured the action Finally the roar of bullets died, replaced by coughing, followed bya hard thud
The sy blond hair lying on the floor, dead, blood pooling around his head The others-outlaws and hostages alike-slowly began to e places behind tables, chairs, the bar and the piano The sight was surreal, the settling gun s in an air of otherworldliness
Milo was still standing
And so was the newcoolden eyes
The two men stared at each other
Neither one had moved, Alex realized In the hail of bullets, neither one had moved
And neither one had been touched
Milo smiled slowly "Well, well, what do we have here?"
"That&039;s not really the question, is it?" the newco here? And the answer is &039;running&039;-because that&039;s the only way you&039;ll leave here alive"
Milo guffawed, but to Alex&039;s surprise, there was so now The absolute confidence the one Even so, he stood dead still-apparently not in the least disturbed by the death of his friend-and continued to stare at the newcomer speculatively
"I can take you down," Milo assured the man
"Maybe, maybe not You just don&039;t know for certain, do you?"
"I can have my men slit the throats of a half-dozen women before you can movefriend," Milo countered smoothly
"Can you?" the newcomer asked
Alex never actually saw hiolden-eyedbowie knife at the outlaw&039;s throat "Don&039;t doubt me, friend I know just how deep I have to slide this blade Now, tell your men to release the women and step outside"
"Get that knife away from my neck first," Milo said
"No When your o And then you get the hell out of this town"
"Even with your handy-dandy sidekick over there," Milo said, indicating the older man who had entered behind the newcomer, "you&039;re outnumbered"
"Doesn&039;t et the hell out of here, I&039;ll show you what two irls will die"
"So will you"
Milo&039;s eyes glealow red, but he was clearly aware of the blade at his throat He growled a co for the door "Not outside!" Milo bellowed "Not until I&039;m with you"
If not for the deadliness of the situation, itto see the way they collided with one another in an effort to stop and turn around Finally the tall newcomer removed the blade from Milo&039;s throat and pushed him toward his comrades "Get out now, and leave this town be," he said quietly
At the door, Milo turned back "No one tells me what to do"
"No one can stop a man bent on sheer stupidity," the newco you-stay the hell away from here-or else"
"I don&039;t take kindly to threats, friend," Milo said
But apparently he&039;d wanted only to get in the last word, because he turned and left, his gang of outlaws following quickly
For a moment there was dead silence in the saloon It was as if everyone aiting, listening for hoofbeats, the assurance that the outlaere really gone
When the hoofbeats came, then died away, cacophony followed
Girls left their hiding places, racing toward the stranger
"Oh, ht she looked new to life as a scarlet woman Her hair was naturally red, and she had an innocence about her
"The Good Lord alone knohat ht have happened," another crooned-this one older, harder, a tall brunette, attractive, but with calculating eyes She didn&039;t look ht she&039;d met her a few years back Sherry Lyn, her name was Victory was a small town "Decent" woirls, but there was just no way out of the fact that you were going toin this place that you want, young ht She was of ht, buxom and a bit stout Her hair was hennaed, and she had the weary look that ca the offer, the golden-eyed ot to stay close for the ti you&039;re closed to the public, and don&039;t go letting any strangers in"
His words were greeted by silence
His older friend cleared his throat and nudged hi
"This is afunhouse, Cody"
The brunette was the first to speak She cleared her throat "Honey, I don&039;t kno to put this delicately, butif we don&039;t invite people in, this place ain&039;t going to be in business long"
"I see," Cody said gravely "Well, you&039;re still going to have to be very careful When you&039;re notentertaining, you need to lock your doors And don&039;t fall prey to anyone seeking entrance when they shouldn&039;t be"
"And ould that be, sugar?" the buxos running around here"
"Dolly," Cody said, "you have to keep an eye out for things that don&039;t seemquite normal, for men like that bunch that were in here just now You have to fight theht the at hiod who had co that he wasn&039;t being understood "I&039;m Cody Fox, and this isaround for a while We&039;re going to try to find out what&039;s going on here"
The sound of furniture being shoved across the floor startled everyone, and all eyes in the roos, who had risen fro place at last
Alex noted that Cody Fox already had a hand on his gun belt
"You two soe of the perfect piano player with his fine suit, bow tie and ray top hat that nicely compleht touch of class to a place frequented by cardsharps, fast women, ranchers, cowboys and transients
"Lawmen? No Just concerned citizens," Cody replied
Brendan Vincent said, "I had kin who lived out in Brigsby There&039;s not hide nor hair of the no hty welcoht have noticed, we&039;ve yet to see the sheriff or his deputy"
Cody was an extreht He had a handsoolden hazel, and when he dusted his hat on his knee, she saw that he had rich wheat-colored hair Tall and rugged, likethat was entirely unique Alex found herself curious about hi women in the saloon seemed about to have the vapors
"Ma&039;a for a roo house of some kind, a place where we can have a bit of peace and quiet, a place to think some of this out," Cody said politely
"Then you want to be staying at Alex&039;s place," Jigs said
Alex hadn&039;t realized that Jigs had even seen her, but now he stared at her, grinning "Welcome home,at her now, and she didn&039;t like the sudden attention She felt her cheeks groarh she didn&039;t knohy It er, she told herself Cody Fox
He looked at her for a longmoment Then a hint of a s "How do you do,she looked like a worn-out school reat deal of flesh and wearing vivid colors
She was basically wearing travel dust
"Fine, thank you-considering the circu inexplicably aard
"You own a boardinghouse?" he asked
"Yes," she said, unable to ain, it had been a yes-or-no question
"And ht you have a couple of vacancies?" he asked politely
She started to turn to Jewell to check, then re unconscious-or worse-back at the boardinghouse "Oh!" she gasped, and without replying, she raced out the door and across the street to the house She rushed in, dropping to her knees by Bert&039;s prone body
She patted his cheeks and called his naroan and opened his eyes, staring up at her blankly
"Bert?" she said anxiously